“If it looked like I’d scored the goal with my hand, then it must have been the hand of God.” Such words by Diego Maradona continue to be passed down onto generations as a famous phrase engraved within the history of football. The so-called “Hand of God” goal that was born during the Argentina versus England quarterfinals at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico had indeed resulted in a worldwide controversy. 32 years since then, the times have changed, and one anticipates the possibility of such a suspicious goal occurring in Russia to be highly unlikely.

Even in football matches, there are more and more scenes in which the power of technology is utilized. A good example of this is the use of Instant replay in recent years. Thanks to this, it has become possible to implement more fair judgment. On the other hand, the players now have no choice but to be aware of another existence asides from the opponent in front of them. Perhaps we can discern links between this and our everyday lives in which a surveillance society under the watchful eye of “Big Brother,” appears to be becoming a reality.

We as football fans watch live matches on our smart phones, access daily information via social networking platforms, and are further approaching times in which we read articles that have been written by AI. Who knows that in 50 years or so robots will be playing at the World Cup, and events beyond our wildest imagination may be taking place.

In this way, the world is constantly continuing to change. Nevertheless, football is football so long as there are 22 players that run across the pitch aiming for the goal and pursuing the ball, and the enthusiasm and excitement of watching a match in the stadium is the same in any era. No matter how technology evolves, there is no difference in the fact that football is a sport that continues to captivate us, and will do so from now on as well.